Air quality closes some schools on Friday; Upper Lake to remain open
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With air quality seriously degraded due to smoke from the Camp fire in Butte County, on Thursday night two Lake County school districts announced their plans to be closed on Friday, another said it would be in session while others are waiting to make a decision on Friday morning.
Smoke from the Camp fire, which began early Thursday morning, started pouring into Lake County’s air basin and other parts of the North Coast later in the morning, turning the sky red and even resulting in some falling ash.
By Thursday night, the fire had reached 20,000 acres, had cut a destructive swath through the town of Paradise, and was headed toward both Chico and Magalia, according to radio reports. Reports on the numbers of possible deaths and structures destroyed so far haven’t been verified.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District had warned of worsening air quality conditions, and by Thursday evening air sensor readings reported on the PurpleAir Web site showed that Lake County had air quality readings in the “hazardous” range that were the worst in the state.
School district officials throughout the day Thursday reported monitoring air conditions.
In Kelseyville Unified, district officials said the poor air quality conditions led to them keeping students indoors on Thursday.
Similarly, Lakeport Unified Superintendent April Leiferman said that students were kept inside for their breaks and physical education activities, with Middletown Unified also reporting that children were being kept indoors.
Just before 9 p.m., both the Kelseyville and Lakeport districts reported that schools would be closed on Friday due to poor air quality still in the hazardous range. The Lake County Office of Education’s Hance Community School also is reported to be closing for Friday.
Middletown Unified said Thursday that it would cancel school on Friday if air quality remained unhealthy.
The district posted on its Facebook page a chart of air quality guidelines that showed that conditions in the “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” range trigger closures, while the “unhealthy” range is at district discretion.
As of early Friday, PurpleAir showed conditions in Middletown to be in the “unhealthy” range, with the Lakeport and Kelseyville areas showing “hazardous” readings.
Late Thursday night, Upper Lake Unified Superintendent Dr. Giovanni Annous said the district was “on high alert and monitoring the situation closely” but that schools will remain open with no outside activities due to the poor air quality, which PurpleAir showed to be in the hazardous range.
“Our classrooms are safe and equipped with A/C units that filter the air, providing a healthy and clean environment for our students. We intend to stay open as long as safety is not compromised in support of our parents, guardians and other stakeholders who are attending to the need of their loved ones and others who are affected by the local fires,” Annous said.
Konocti Unified had not announced a decision late Thursday, and is expected to notify parents early Friday of a closure if one is called for, but air quality results from the Clearlake and Lower Lake area were in the “moderate” range overnight.
Lucerne Elementary also had not indicated a potential closure as of Thursday night.
Additional closure notices, if warranted, will be reported early Friday.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, acting as the governor while Jerry Brown is out of state, on Thursday requested a presidential emergency declaration for direct federal assistance for not just the Camp fire but also the Hill and Woolsey fires in Ventura County, the Nurse Fire in Solano County and fires in several other counties, including Lassen and Mendocino.
“These statewide weather conditions are predicted to remain in California for several days,” said Acting Governor Newsom in the letter. “As such, these fires will continue to grow and pose further threat to the health and safety of residents throughout California.”
Newsom on Thursday also issued an emergency proclamation for Butte County due to the effects of the Camp Fire.
At the same time, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services activated the State Operations Center in Mather to its highest level and is coordinating with other local, state and federal emergency response officials to address emergency management needs.
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